Of Ravens and Men
by I'mShippingItLikeFedEx
Summary: Being a raven was simple. Being a man...not so much. Diaval has a lot to learn. Some stand alone moments in which Diaval deals with new experiences that come from taking human form, including his growing feelings for Maleficent.
1. Chapter 1

"What is that God awful smell?" Diaval shouted to no one in particular as he walked amongst the trees. The sun had set a while ago, but the heat from the day still hung in the air.

He began sniffing around himself, trying to adjust to his senses in human form. _Bad idea_, he thought. The offending odor was clearly coming from him. After spending most of the day walking, yes walking around the Moors trying to get used to his human body, he concluded that he needed a good bathing. More than once he had stumbled over a tree root or rock and fell into the dirt.

Unfortunately, his mistress was nowhere to be found to transform him back to his wonderful natural state. _Probably for the best though_, he concluded, as he didn't love the idea of preening if there was a chance this stench would carry over to his raven form.

His only option at the moment was to venture in to the water if he wanted to be rid of this smell. He hated the idea, but didn't have much of a choice considering the circumstances. Gathering what little resolve he had, he disrobed at the tree line and headed towards the nearby lake's shore.

What he did not know was that his mistress, Maleficent had the very same idea and was already bathing in the water. She was startled by his less than graceful approach onto the banks of the lake. Quickly, she turned her back and covered herself looking over her shoulder at the man-bird who was now standing at the waters edge completely naked. The moonlight gave his pale skin an ethereal glow. He barely made any notice of her nor did he seem to care about their state of undress. Clothes were a foreign concept to him and he didn't quite understand their necessity.

"What on earth are you..." but before she could finish he has already waist deep and was dousing himself with water, making a ridiculous show of it.

"Disgusting creatures, these humans," he yelled, making his disdain for this form known.

Still surprised by his intrusion, Maleficent could do nothing but stare wide eyed at her servant who seemed to take no notice of her despite his boisterous complaining. As he continued splashing and muttering to himself, a small smile formed on her lips. She did find his melodramatic antics to be amusing, of course she would never let him or anyone else know that.

"Are you quite finished?" She asked loudly using her most annoyed tone.

"I could bathe for a week and I don't know that I'd ever be finished," he replied. "And to think people call birds dirty."

Not caring to listen to any more of his ramblings, she instructed him to turn around so she could exit the water.

He looked at her curiously for a moment, until the realization of her present state finally dawned on him.

"Ah, of course Mistress," he said with a smirk as he turned around, "but as a bird I've seen many things and I can assure you, you've got nothing that's a mystery to me."

"That may be," she replied coolly as she put her robe on, "but clearly you need more time in this form to think about how to behave with some propriety and tact. Good night Diaval." And with that she left Diaval there with his back turned cursing his big mouth. _I really need to learn to keep my mouth shut_, he thought.

She could still hear him splashing around from her bed high in the trees. She glanced over to the lake. He had apparently figured out how to float as he was currently resting in the water looking up at the starry night sky. _Such innocence_, she thought as she looked at the peaceful smile on his face. _No shame, no worry. He seemed free as...well, free as a bird._ The weight of the world still rested on her wingless shoulders, but perhaps this servant of hers would prove to be entertaining.


	2. Chapter 2

When Diaval had agreed to serve Maleficent, he had not known of the betrayal she had suffered at the hands of Stefan. As he learned of her story, he truly felt for her. He couldn't imagine losing his wings. He would rather be dead than never be able to fly again. He was grateful for his life and for his ability to fly so he gladly served as her wings, as well as her eyes and ears around the kingdom of men.

When he heard of the birth of Stefan's daughter, he had a very bad feeling. He knew that this news was going to upset his mistress and with good reason. He had figured out that Maleficent and Stefan had been mates at one point and thought it a horrible fate to have to watch one's mate have offspring with another. It was unheard of in the raven world. Ravens were loyal creatures and they mated for life.

Despite his expectation, he wasn't quite prepared for what he saw when he told her of the child's birth. He could see the hurt in her eyes, the pain that flashed across her features for the briefest of moments before she put up the emotional wall and regained her composure. He was used to her hiding her feelings, but over time and with careful study, he had been able to see the small crack in her facade. Her face was expressionless, her voice cold and unfeeling. Her eyes though…her eyes were what gave her away. She couldn't hide the pain completely. As soon as he saw her true emotions reflected in her green eyes, he hated that it had to be his words that poured salt into the wounds that would likely never heal.

It was at that moment that Diaval knew that he hated Stefan. As a raven he didn't know of such a thing. He had feared things, yes, and had aversions to many others, but true hatred was something he wasn't familiar with until now. Hatred for someone so vile that he could betray someone he once cared about in such a way to cause this kind of pain. Diaval was overwhelmed by this feeling and was relieved to be returned to his raven form. He had realized that these confusing human emotions were a bit easier to deal with in his natural form. With his feelings easier to manage, he followed his mistress as she prepared to confront Stefan.

He didn't know what Maleficent had in store for Stefan, but whatever it was, Diaval knew he deserved it and then some.

* * *

AN: I wasn't sure about this one. I wanted to play with the idea of Diaval feeling an emotion such as hate, but it didn't turn out the way I wanted. I didn't know what else to do with it to make it better so here it is.


	3. Chapter 3

It was early in the evening when Diaval began his journey home from his information gathering in Stefan's kingdom. The sun was just starting to set as he saw his mistress scanning the skies for his arrival. She met him in the clearing near they tree that served as their home and he swooped down towards her carrying a large fish in his talons.

"Into a man," Maleficent said as she changed him into his human form as soon as he was close enough to the ground.

"Dinner!" He exclaimed as he excitedly held the fish up high. "I caught this up the river and thought we could eat together." He was very proud of his catch and of his idea to make sure she ate a decent meal. He was worried about his mistress as she was so preoccupied with Stefan and her revenge that she didn't always take time to have a proper meal. Now they could eat together and he could make sure she was taken care of, at least for tonight.

Maleficent eyed him curiously. "Very well. You can tell me what you have discovered today."

"That'll be a short conversation," Diaval admitted. "I wasn't able to see or hear anything worth mentioning. Bit of a quiet day in the kingdom."

Maleficent frowned. Not wanting her to back out of their dinner he quickly added, "I'll go gather up some other things to add to our meal." With that he started off in the direction were he usually found dinner as a raven.

"Diaval!" Maleficent yelled after him.

"Yes, Mistress?" He answered while turning back towards her.

"Don't come back here with any worms and expect me to eat them!" She warned.

"But they're so good and full of…"

"Diaval." She said with a warning tone, cutting him off before he could finish.

"Yes, Mistress," he replied dejectedly as he walked a little less excitedly than before. _What's a meal without some delicious worms?_ He thought.

A short while later, he returned with a sampling of his favorite seeds and berries only to see his fish over a fire and Maleficent sitting next to it.

"Nooooo! What have you done to my wonderful fish?" He shouted as he fell to his knees in front of her. She rolled her eyes at his overly dramatic display.

"What one does with fish before they eat it. I cooked it," she replied matter-of-factly.

Diaval made a disgusted face. "Surely, you didn't expect me to eat it raw, did you?" She asked.

"You've gone and ruined it. And it was such a nice fish too. Took me a long time to catch it. I was looking forward to enjoying it all evening. It was going to be so delicious and now it's wasted. What a fine meal this has turned out to be. First no worms and now the fish has been…mmmf." Before he could finish Maleficent took a piece of the cooked fish and stuffed it in his open mouth. Diaval wasn't sure if he was more surprised by the feel of her fingertips on his lips or the taste of the cooked fish.

"Well?" She inquired as she withdrew her hand from his mouth.

He hated to admit it, but the cooked fish was actually appealing to his human senses. "I suppose it's not completely ruined," he conceded.

"Aha," she said triumphantly as she put the remainder of the fish on two plates and handed him one.

He sat holding the plate for a moment looking like an insolent child. She wasn't sure if the pout on his face was from having his fish cooked or from being proven wrong. Either way, Maleficent felt victorious and continued enjoying her meal with a smug smile.

He lowered his mouth to the fish and was about ready to bite when he noticed a sharp glare coming from Maleficent.

"Ahem…like this," she said as she showed him how to eat with utensils. "If you're going to spend time in this form, you need to learn how to behave a little less like an animal."

"Oh what fun," was his sarcastic reply as he looked curiously at the knife and fork.

"That includes keeping your snide remarks to yourself," she chided. She tried to remain serious, but she couldn't help but smile a little as the raven tried, and failed miserably at using utensils. Feeling a bit bad for "ruining" his dinner, she finally gave in.

"Oh alright," she said. "Just have at it then."

He happily dropped the utensils and tore into the fish with his human teeth. Maleficent shook her head as she got up to leave, not wanting to witness his eating habits any longer.

"Sorry Mistress," he replied with a mouth full of food, "but some animals just can't be domesticated."

"We will just have to see about that," she said with a smirk as she walked away. She was never one to back away from a challenge.

* * *

AN: Do fairies even eat meat? Cook? Use utensils? I dunno but the purposes of this one shot, they do. Maleficent appears so graceful and elegant and as a ruler I feel like she would care about manners and propriety to a certain extent.


	4. Chapter 4

Diaval had spent his nights sleeping in his natural state as a raven, usually curled up near Malecicent's shoulder. It started as a way to offer some comfort to her when her nightmares were at their worst. She didn't seem to mind, as she would never say anything to him about it in the morning. She even started calling him over when it was time to sleep. Often, she would stroke the feathers on the back of his head for a bit until she was too tired.

On this particular night however, he returned very late from his information gathering. He landed near her resting place on one of the lower branches of the tree and she transformed him into a man. He regained his balance and sat across from her telling her of all the news he had from the kingdom. He was just about finished when she nodded off in the middle of his sentence.

_I didn't think I was that boring, _he thought._ I suppose the rest can wait until morning_. He moved next to her and tried to figure out how he was going to sleep in this form. He didn't dare wake her to change him back. He'd rather spend the night as a man than risk her wrath upon being woken. Besides, she needed the rest anyway as she didn't sleep much and what little sleep she did get was plagued with nightmares.

He very carefully tried to lie down without disturbing her. His head was resting where his raven form would usually lay on her shoulder and without knowing what to do with his arms, he placed one gently around her middle. He had seen humans sleep comfortably this way before. Pleased that he hadn't disturbed her and that he had managed to find a comfortable way to sleep he was almost ready to drift off when...

"Nooooo!" She cried as she grabbed his wrist and twisted him off her as she sat up. Her eyes were wide with panic and her breathing was heavy.

"What do you think you are doing?" The shock and anger was evident in her voice.

"I was just trying to sleep, Mistress. You fell asleep before changing me back. I didn't want to wake you," he said, his eyes growing as wide as hers. It was one of those rare moments were DIaval was actually frightened of her. He had never seen her anger directed at him like this before. Annoyance, sure, but never the anger he was seeing at this moment.

"Try that again and you'll be spending the rest of your days as a worm," was her stern reply. "Do not touch me again!" She finally let go of his wrist, but her glare was enough to tell him he was not out of danger yet.

"I'm sorry Mistress, but I always sleep there next to you," he replied, very confused as to what he did wrong.

"Not like this you don't!" She replied harshly.

"I don't understand! What difference does my form make? It's still me no matter form I am in." It was just then that she moved in just a way that allowed him to see the top of one of the scars on her back. _Stupid, Diaval! So stupid_, he thought. "Forgive me, Mistress. It will never happen again," and with that he dropped to the ground with ability neither knew he possessed. His landing was less than graceful, but it was preferable to sitting in that tree another moment in the very awkward situation he had put himself in.

Maleficent felt bad when she saw the realization hit Diaval's face. He truly did not see the harm in what he was doing. She forgets sometimes that he is still just a raven, but the shock of waking up with a man's arm around her was too much for her to deal with at the time. She put her head back down and tried to control her breathing. _Everything is alright_, she told herself._ It was only Diaval and he would never hurt you_. She knew this of course, but there was still a part of her that wouldn't allow her to open herself up to anyone, not even her trusted servant. For there was once a time where she thought another would never hurt her either. _Damn him! _She almost yelled aloud. Stefan had left her broken in more ways than she could count.

She wondered if she should have said something more to Diaval, but he had boldly leapt out of the tree and onto the ground so suddenly, presumably fleeing for his life. Perhaps it would be better if they discussed this in the morning…or maybe never at all.

Diaval sat at the base of the tree leaning against the trunk holding the wrist she had grabbed. He was a little hurt by his mistress's reaction but he understood why she reacted that way. If he had thought for just a moment he would have realized that waking up next to him like that would trigger painful memories. He imagined he would be hesitant with her too if she were to take the form of a dog after the suffering he had endured because of them.

_She must know that he would never hurt her though, right?_ Diaval thought. In his raven form, she never seemed to have any issues with him. She would often pet him and allow him to perch on her shoulder and of course sleep beside her. But as a man, he noticed she would keep her distance. She never appeared frightened, just cautious. With a sigh he resigned himself to trying to sleep. He wondered if he would still be in trouble in the morning. Just before he fell asleep, the thought that troubled him the most was just how nice it was for those few moments that he was next to her as a man with his arm around her.

He awoke the next morning just as she was descending the branch stairs that led from her bed in the tree. He stood awkwardly, sore from having spent the night leaning up against the tree. He lowered his eyes, expecting the worst. She didn't say anything as she walked past him, only stopped to scratch the back of his head for a moment, much like she would when he was a raven. He looked up at her, surprised at the affection she was showing. It was a small gesture, but it was enough to show that the events of the previous night had been forgiven. She looked him right in the eye, silently asking for forgiveness of her own. He gave her one of his half smiles letting her know that everything was okay between them.

* * *

AN: I've been struggling a lot on this chapter and I've just reached the point where I don't have anything left for it. It's not exactly how I wanted it, but here it is anyway.


	5. Chapter 5

"Those three dimwits took off into the forest and won't be back until morning. They left the Beastie to her own devices," Maleficent complained. "Stefan is even crazier than I thought if he turned the care of his daughter over to them."

They could hear little Aurora crying from their hiding spot overlooking the cottage.

"She probably wants to be held," Diaval explained. "She usually quiets down when one of them holds her."

"Well don't look at me," she exclaimed with a laugh. "Go on. Get to it then," she said as she gave him a gentle push towards the cottage.

"What do I know about holding a baby?" He yelled as he resisted her push.

"You've seen them do it. How hard can it be?" She asked.

"You do it then, if it's so easy," he said, stepping out of her way and gesturing towards the cottage.

"I don't like children," she explained, "particularly that one. But I do need this incessant crying to stop. Besides, I know you have a soft spot for the little Beastie, though I can't understand why."

"Fine," he said grudgingly, "but if I drop her, I don't want to hear anything from you about it."

With a smile, she made a motion as if to seal her lips. "Not a word," she promised, pleased that she had gotten her way once again with her stubborn servant.

He approached the small cottage and made his way to Aurora's crib.

"Hello little one," he cooed. He picked her up gently and began rocking her like he had seen the pixies do many times before. She immediately quieted down and stared up at him with her big blue eyes. He walked over to the window and held the baby so Maleficent could see them. He caught her eye and with a big, proud smile he nodded his head as if to say, "Look at this. I'm actually doing it."

As a raven he was expected to find a mate and have little hatchlings one day, but then he was rescued from certain death and all of that changed. He gave up any idea of having offspring. Holding Aurora though, he thought it might be nice to have a child of his own some day. Instead of the blue eyes looking up at him he imagined his child having the beautiful green eyes of her mother. He shook the thought from his head. _Where did that come from?_ He wondered. His thoughts had been getting stranger and stranger the more he was in human form.

As Maleficent saw them through the cottage window, a strange feeling came over her. Many years ago Maleficent had wanted to have a child of her own. She had foolishly assumed that one day she and Stefan would have children. Of course as certain events transpired, she had given up on any hope of that. But seeing Diaval proudly hold the little Beastie in his arms brought the idea to the forefront of her mind again. Worried about where entertaining silly notions like this would lead, she quickly pushed the thought away. She walked back into the forest, not wanting to watch the two of them any longer. She'd be back before dawn to make sure Diaval wasn't caught.

Diaval frowned as he saw her walking away. He had hoped that she might grow attached to the child at some point and revoke the curse. Maleficent's vendetta against Stefan was justified, but he didn't want to see an innocent life suffer the consequences. He knew his mistress was better than that and her curse was placed in a moment of weakness. Her own stubbornness prevented her from admitting that she may have overreacted by cursing Stefan's daughter.

Diaval still held hope that she would come around. His hope rested in the very words of Maleficent's curse: "The princess shall indeed grow in grace and beauty, beloved by all who know her." All Diaval had to do was get Maleficent to spend more time around Aurora. He felt very proud of his cleverness. Ravens were nothing if not clever creatures.

"We'll make her see," he promised to the baby in his arms. "You and I will show her that she isn't as terrible as she thinks she is."

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AN: Thanks for the reviews everyone! I've been kinda nervous as this is my first fic ever, but your encouragement has meant a lot. I've got 4 more chapters typed out already. They just need a little perfecting. I hope to have them up soon.


	6. Chapter 6

Maleficent scanned the sky for her servant. Diaval was very late. She couldn't help the growing concern as the minutes went on without his appearance. _What if he was injured? Attacked by a larger bird? Caught by Stefan's men_? The possibilities seemed endless in her mind, each one worse than the last.

She breathed a sigh of relief when she finally saw him approaching, but relief quickly turned to concern again as she saw him struggling towards her. It wasn't until he was closer that she realized he was carrying something heavy. He dropped what looked like a book near to her as she transformed him into a man.

"Whew. That was quite a flight. Didn't think I was going to make it there for a moment," he said nonchalantly as he picked up the book he had dropped.

"You're late," she said, trying to remove any hint of concern from her voice.

"I suppose I am," he replied, "but an opportunity presented itself and I couldn't pass it up," he responded.

"Which was?" She inquired.

"This," he answered as he held up the book.

"It's a book," she said, very unimpressed.

"Well, nothing gets by you does it?" He replied sarcastically as he brushed the dirt off the cover.

"Watch your tone or you just may find yourself as a toad for the remainder of the day," she cautioned, though by this point she was used to his snarky comments and he was used to her empty threats.

"What's so important about this book?" She asked.

"This book? Nothing really. I just wanted a book is all. And this one happened to make itself available. One of the Queen's maids had left it out and I uh, seized the opportunity."

"You stole it then."

"I like to think of it as borrowing without asking," he replied with a cheeky grin.

"What use is a book to you, anyway? I hope you don't expect me to start reading you bedtime stories," she said with a laugh.

"Well, the pixies have been giving Aurora her school lessons in the cottage and since I'm usually there keeping an eye on her for you, I guess I've picked some of it up a little. I just wanted to practice a bit," he explained.

"Are you telling me that you've learned to read?" She asked with a raised eyebrow, her voice full of surprise.

"Well, yeah sort of. I mean I'm not very good. Not nearly as good as Aurora."

"I'm surprised the little Beastie is capable of reading. I figured she'd be as stupid as she is hideous."

Diaval let out an exasperated sigh. He knew by now that she didn't mean any of the negative things she said about Aurora, but she still insisted on keeping up this act that she hated the "little Beastie." He wasn't sure who she was trying to convince more, him or herself.

"She's really smart actually," Diaval informed her.

"Hmm. Perhaps compared to a raven," she joked. "So what is this book that you've acquired?"

"I'm not sure. I didn't have a chance to see what it was before I took…I mean borrowed it." He glanced down at the cover, "The K…Ka." He paused trying to sound out the word. "The Knight and the Fair Maiden: A Tale of True Love," he said slowly as he read the book's title. "Ah, that's nice."

"Ha," she scoffed. "You could have at least picked a useful book. What absolute nonsense." With that she ascended up the branch stairs to her bed. Diaval sat down at the base of the tree and opened the book, excited to practice his reading.

Maleficent looked down at him as he sat turning the first few pages. She had to admit she was very impressed with his learning how to read. She was surprised he wanted to learn at all. _What use was it for him? He didn't usually care for the things of men._ Although, she had noticed him complaining less and less about spending long periods of time in this form. _Was he becoming more like a man? Ridiculous. He's just a curious and clever bird, that's all_, she told herself before falling asleep.

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AN: The next chapter will be a continuation of this one. The second part needs a little bit more work before it is ready. Again, thanks for all your kind words in the reviews.


	7. Chapter 7

AN: This is a continuation of the previous chapter instead of a stand alone.

* * *

With half the night gone and being only a few chapters in to his book, Diaval put it down and decided to try and get some rest. As he sat against the base of the tree, he found he couldn't fall asleep. His mind was racing with thoughts of what he had just read. If the knight was so in love with the maiden, he should just bring her food and shiny trinkets. Then if she accepts they could begin the mating dance. It was quite simple really. Humans made everything so much more complicated than it needed to be. Choosing a mate did not need to complicated. Not that he knew of this firsthand; he had just thought the idea of choosing a mate seemed simple in theory. A theory he had yet to test out. He supposed it was because of his duty to Maleficent. Surely though, she would not begrudge him if he were to find a mate. His duties did not occupy all of his time. He would have time to start a family if he desired. He had opportunities of course. He was a very handsome raven after all. But every time another raven seemed interested, he had some excuse for himself as to why he couldn't at the time.

He had been putting it off, but a mate was important. It was unheard of for a raven to be as old as he was and to not be mated. It was necessary for the survival of the species. You pledge your life to another and…that was the real reason right there, he realized. He had already pledged his life to someone. But he didn't think of Maleficent as his mate, did he? No. She was just his mistress and he happily served her. So what if she was the most beautiful creature he had ever laid eyes upon and that he wanted nothing more than her happiness. Or that he would be content with spending the rest of his days by her side. And sure, sometimes he'd wake up in the middle of the night from a confusing dream longing to hold her in his arms, but that didn't mean…

He let out a long sigh. He couldn't fool himself any longer. He hadn't taken a mate in all these years because he had already found one. Now that he had admitted it to himself, there was no going back. He couldn't pretend that he didn't harbor these feelings for Maleficent. He may not understand these feelings completely, but he couldn't deny that they were there and that they had been there for a while now.

He rubbed his eyes with his hands. This was not a convenient situation to be in. Love was fine for a knight and a fair maiden like in his book, but he seriously doubted the possibility of a happy ending for him and his beautiful faery mistress. He wished he had never picked up that story.

"How was the book? I hope you didn't stay up all night reading. I need you to be well rested," Maleficent said to him the next morning.

"You were right," he admitted, refusing to make eye contact with her. "It was complete nonsense. I don't think I'll be finishing it."

She eyed him curiously.

"Shall I head to the kingdom or check on Aurora first?" he asked, hoping that she didn't question him further about the book. He wanted to return to his raven form so he could be rid of these damn thoughts and feelings for a while.

With a flick of her wrist, Maleficent transformed him back into a raven. "You can head to the castle. I shall check on the beastie myself today." After a small nod to his mistress, Diaval took off towards the castle. "Don't risk your life for any more useless drivel," he heard her yell after him.

_No chance of that happening again_, he thought as he soared through the air. The feel of the wind at his wings was a comfort, but despite this he still felt the burden of a heavy heart.


	8. Chapter 8

As soon as Maleficent saw Diaval approaching, she noticed that he was being followed. He was flying much quicker than usual, but the pursuer was keeping up with him. As he got closer she realized it was another raven following behind him. A female if Maleficent was correct…not that it mattered she told herself.

Curious to see what this was about, she transformed him into a man as soon as he was close enough to the ground. The other raven circled around him and then tired to land on his head. He shooed her away but she would not be deterred. She landed on a nearby branch instead.

"Someone's made a friend. Diaval, aren't you going to introduce me?" She said playfully as she approached him, hoping that the hint of jealousy in her voice went undetected. _Ridiculous_, she thought. _Jealous of a bird? And not a very pretty one at that,_ she added.

"She won't leave me alone," he responded.

"Yes, ravens can be rather annoying like that, can't they?" She teased.

"Been following me most of the day. I think she likes me," he said with a shrug.

"Of course she likes you. You always go on and on about how you are beautiful raven. Were you perhaps exaggerating?" She asked.

"No exaggeration. Obviously, I am handsome in whatever form I take," he said looking at her playfully, "but I have no interest in her. She doesn't seem to be taking the hint."

"Oh do let her down easy. We can't have you breaking hearts all throughout the two kingdoms," she joked.

He walked over to the raven on the branch. "Go on now. Go find someone else. You'd be much happier with another raven who wasn't like this sometimes." He moved closer to her to shoo her away but before he could, she took off and headed back towards Stefan's kingdom. "Finally. All it took was my slightly less handsome than a raven, but still incredibly handsome, self."

Maleficent rolled her eyes, though she could hardly argue with the incredibly handsome part. After a long pause, she tried to ask casually, "So, not your type then?"

"Uh, Not exactly," Diaval replied uncomfortably. He didn't want to admit to her that his type now involved green eyes, long brown hair, smooth featherless skin, and two long legs that went on forever. He tried to hide the blush that he could feel forming on his pale face.

_Blushing? Since when did Diaval blush_, Maleficent thought as she noticed the red in his cheeks and his uncomfortable smile. She misunderstood his response. "Diaval, have you found a raven you are interested in?" She asked, dreading the next words that might come out of his mouth.

"No, Mistress. There's no raven that I wish to be with," he said.

"Do you not wish to socialize with others of your kind? Surely there's some raven out there who would interest you." She wondered why she was pushing this issue so much when they very idea troubled her.

"Well, I don't really fancy ravens anymore," he replied sheepishly.

"Oh, is that so?" She asked, unsure of how she should respond to his confession.

"Most of them don't exactly enjoy my company. I'm too strange for them now. And to be honest they don't really interest me much these days."

_Who does interest you?_ She wanted to ask.

"I'm not a man but I'm not really a bird anymore either," he stated

Shocked by this admission she asked, "What is it that you think you are then?"

He didn't reply, only shrugged his shoulders, but his heart was screaming, "Yours."


End file.
